Chocolate Irish Cream Cheesecake

Olha's Note:

This luscious dessert is richer than some other Irish cream Cheesecakes thanks to whipping cream and melted chocolate in the filling.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 35 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST

• 11 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies , crushed
• 3 tablespoons butter or 3 tablespoons margarine , melted

CHOCOLATE IRISH CREAM FILLING

• 18 ounces cream cheese
• 2⁄3; cup sugar
• 5 eggs
• 2⁄3; cup whipping cream
• ¾ cup irish cream
• 1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1 ¼ teaspoons instant coffee
• 1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips , melted
• sifted powdered sugar

Directions:

1. FOR THE COOKIE CRUST: In a small bowl stir together crushed cookies and melted butter or margarine till well combined. Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan.
2. FOR THE FILLING: In a large bowl combine cream cheese and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer till smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in liqueur and vanilla extract. Stir together hot water and instant coffee. Stir into cream cheese mixture. Stir in melted chocolate. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.
3. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200°F and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or till the center no longer looks wet or shiny. Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.
4. Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 2 hours. Chill, uncovered, overnight.
5. Place a decorative stencil over the top of the cheesecake. Sift powdered sugar over the stencil. Carefully remove stencil. Chill till serving time. Makes 12 to 18 slices.
6. Cheesecake Extraordinaire.Mary Crownover.

Reviews

[deepfreeze]

I made this for a potluck barbecue I attended this weekend and it was a huge hit. Everyone loved it! The only trouble I had was the instructions do not include the whipping cream for the filling. I ended up leaving it out & it still turned out great. I made a coffee flavored whip cream to top it off and added chocolate shavings and Skor bits for garnish.